So Money with Farnoosh Torabi · Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Monica Packer criticizes the self-help industry for promoting a "one-size-fits-all" approach to habit formation, often exemplified by "5 AM club" or "beach morning routine" influencers. She argues that these aspirational examples often ignore the reality of invisible labor and privileges, making them unsustainable for the majority of people.
“And so much of what's online about habit formation, it's it's the influencers that are like living on a beach like I wake up at 4 AM, I make a matcha latte. No, before I before my lips touch food or liquid, I go and sink my feet into sand.”
“But most of the time, these people have wives. Most of the time, people someone's wife is waking them up with the coffee, right? Yeah. Or they have someone else who's waking up the kids or doing the invisible labor of running the household.”
“And what sells is certainty. Black and white. Here's my A to Z plan. If you follow it, then you're going to be a habit person, or you're going to be a good person, really, that's probably what they're after.”